EAT, PRAY, LOVE

A woman walking in a green field with so many crops

I love movies with exotic locations. Eat, Pray, Love made Bali look so beautiful, romantic, and otherworldly that given the chance to go, I couldn’t pass it up. Who wouldn’t want to live in a glamorous hut shacked up next to Javier Bardem and never worry about locking the door? When I arrived in Ubud,…

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BEET SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE DRESSING

Close up image of food with designs

I’ve never been a huge fan of beets, but I seem to be able to tolerate them if they are dressed up with a bunch of other tasty ingredients. I do like the color they add to a dish and from a nutritional standpoint, they are a very respectable vegetable. Paired with goat cheese, beets…

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LIONS AND RHINOS AND SCARES, OH MY!

Close up shot of a lion watching at the camera

I’ve never been much of an animal lover. I was chased by a Great Dane as a kid and he almost bit me as my bell bottoms flapped in the wind, nearly getting caught in the spokes of my bike as I lifted my feet from its hungry mouth. I still have a fear of…

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THE BEST LAID PLANS

Top view of a platter on the table

Now that I’m getting to a certain age, I’ve started a bucket list of all the places I’d like to explore and visit while I’ve still got the energy and adventurous spirit to enjoy them. The idea is to do the hard trips first because you never know what type of monkey wrench life can…

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PANKO CRUSTED STUFFED SQUASH BLOSSOMS

Top view of so much food on red base

Towards the end of each summer, I race to the greenmarket in time to beat the crowds before all the squash blossoms are gone for the season. These delicate zucchini flowers are great for stuffing and frying. But you have to handle them ever so gingerly. It’s way too easy to get a split in…

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EASY STUFFED POTATOES

Top view of food on a white color plate

If you’ve had a bad day and need a little comfort food, it’s hard to go wrong with these stuffed potatoes. You can fool yourself into thinking how all the wonderful nutrients from the potatoes are helping your heart and blood pressure, while ignoring all the evils from the bacon, sour cream and cheese. Given…

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ASIAN DUCK SOUP

Top view of a soup in white color bowl

About once a year, my friends and I head down to Chinatown for a Peking Duck feast. There’s a great restaurant — Hwa Yuan Szechuan on East Broadway — that serves this classic dish tableside. After the waiter slices every last possible bit of meat off of the carcass, I ask him to wrap up…

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STUFFED MUSHROOMS

So many small pieces of Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are an old classic that never goes out of style. Why have they stood the test of time? Could it be the bacon or garlic or Parmesan that gets stuffed inside each cap? Personally, they had me at bacon. I like serving these on a platter during a martini-fueled cocktail hour or placing…

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SALMON STEAK WITH GARDEN FRESH RELISH

Top view of Salmon Steak in a plate

Every summer we plant lots of cherry tomatoes on our deck. Of course, they all become ripe around the same time, so I’m always looking for new things to do with them. This simple relish is great on top of almost any fish. I like serving it on top of salmon steaks because the acidity…

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3-CHEESE GRILLED WHITE PIZZA

Close up shot of a Grilled pizza

I know this is sacrilege, but I’m not a big fan of tomato sauce on my pizza. To be honest, it’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that it doesn’t like me. It gives me terrible heartburn. But I refuse to give up pizza, so I came up with this recipe for a white…

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